8 applications received for EVM verification: poll panel The EC said eight aggrieved candidates have sought verification of tampering or modification of microcontroller chips in EVMs. The BJP’s Ahmednagar candidate Sujay VikhePatil, who lost to Nilesh Lanke of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), sought verification of EVMs from 40 polling stations. A YSR Congress Party and a Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam candidate in Tamil Nadu are also among those who have sought verification. In all, verification is sought for 92 polling stations in six states. belagavi l friday l june 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI panel to scrutinise NTA UGC-net paper leaked on dark net Institutional failure of NTA: Govt S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a nt y @ New Delhi in a big relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a Delhi court on Thursday granted him bail in the money laundering case that stems from the alleged excise scam. Kejriwal is the prime accused in the case related to the now scrapped Delhi liquor policy . E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e “Let us have faith in our systems; no irregularities or malpractices will be tolerated by the Under fire over alleged irregu- government,” he said. larities in the NEET-UG and the Regarding the cancellation of UGC-NET, Union Education the UGC-NET exam for junior Minister Dharmendra Pradhan research fellows, assistant proon Thursday admitted that con- fessors, and PhD scholars, Pradsecutive paper leak cases affect- han disclosed that the exam paing the lives of at least 35 lakh per had been leaked on students represent an institu- Telegram. He said the governtional failure of the National ment was committed to mainTesting Agency (NTA). taining the integrity of the exHe announced the formation amination process and sought of a high-level panel trust in the system. to scrutinise the funcPradhan said altioning of the Nationthough an anti-cheatal Testing Agency ing bill had been ap(NTA), which conp r o ve d by b o t h ducted those exams. Houses of Parliament The panel will comearlier this year, the prise eminent indilaw ministry is curviduals, sociologists rently refining the and education experts associated regulawho will examine the tions. “ present, we At By taking NTA structure, func’s lack effective meastioning, exam proc- responsibility, we have ures to confront such to rectify the system. esses, transparency challenges,” he said. We are committed to and data manage“Modern software exams with zero errors. ment, he said. such as Telegram is I request everyone to P r a d h a n ’s a n often utilised to leak not spread rumours nouncement came a exam questions. Dharmendra Pradhan day after the NTA When administering cancelled the UGCexams for PhD scholNET after conformation the ars, ensuring high standards is question paper was leaked on crucial. Despite the difficulties, the dark net. The matter is now we are committed to addressing under investigation by the CBI. them. New examination dates Addressing concerns about for the UGC-NET will be anthe NEET-UG as well, Pradhan nounced shortly he said. ,” said isolated instances of malThe results of the NEET exam practice should not unfairly im- conducted on May 5 across 4,750 pact lakhs of students who le- centres with approximately 24 gitimately passed the exam. He lakh candidates was announced urged the Opposition not to po- on June 4. An unprecedented 67 liticise the matter and assured students got the perfect score of strict actions against any the 720 on 720, raising concerns about guilty including NTA officials. , alleged irregularities in the test. Delhi court grants bail to Kejriwal @ New Delhi Ex-Indian pacer David Johnson passes away Students protest against alleged malpractices in NEET-UG and UGC-NET, in New Delhi on Thursday | PTI SC stays proceedings on NEET-UG in HCs, issues notices to NTA, govt S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a nt y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed all proceedings before various high courts on the the conduct of the NEET-UG exam and issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre on a fresh bunch of pleas against irregularities in the exam. A two-judge vacation bench of justices Vikram Nath and S V N Bhatti was hearing the NTA’s request to transfer all cases filed in various high courts on the matter to itself. The bench tagged it along with other pending pleas for hearing on July 8. The court reiterated its refusal to stay the counselling. More than 35 petitions have been filed in the top court, including a fresh petition by a group of 20 students, seeking the scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 and an SCmonitored probe by the CBI or any other independent agency into the alleged irregularities. “ this has been argued from All day one and they (some petitioners) have been wanting stay of counselling. We have denied that. Ultimately if all of you , succeed, everything will go,” the bench told the petitioners, one of whom sought deferment of the counselling till July 8. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Former Indian cricketer David Jude Johnson reportedly died after he fell off the balcony of his fourth floor apartment at Kothanur in the city on Thursday around 10.30 am. He was 52. Johnson was living with his family at SLV Paradise Apar tment in Kanakashri Layout. His wife is said to have told police that Johnson slipped and fell off the balcony . However, police suspect it to be a case of suicide. According to police, Johnson was dealing with alcohol-related issues and had joined a deaddiction centre in the city a few months ago. The former Indian pacer was admitted to a private hospital in Ashoknagar last week for a stomach-related illness and was discharged three days ago. P5 The court granted bail after directing Kejriwal to furnish a personal bail bond of `1 lakh. Vacation Judge of the Rouse Avenue Court, Niyay Bindu, declined the Enforcement Directorate’s request to keep the bail order in abeyance for 48 hours to allow it to appeal. Kejriwal is expected to come out of Tihar Jail by Friday evening after furnishing the bail bond and completing other formalities. The judge also directed Kejriwal to appear before the court whenever required and to cooperate with the investigation. It is to be noted that as the summer vacations are currently going on in courts, it’s the duty judges who hear important cases involving human liberty and bail matters. express read Premium liquor prices to be slashed from July 1 TN hooch tragedy toll now 38, 118 still in hosp Bengaluru: The prices of premium liquor in the state will come down drastically from July 1 with the state government issuing a draft notification on Thursday. The excise department has invited objections, if any, for reduction on 16 categories of high-end liquor | P4 Chennai: The death toll in the illicit arrack tragedy in Kallakurichi went up to 38 on Thursday as several victims undergoing treatment at hospitals died without responding to treatment. About 118 more are still under treatment | P5 SHGs to collect property tax, water cess dues E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru The state cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to take the help of women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to collect property tax and water cess arrears. It decided to give 5% of the amount collected to the SHG members as an incentive. The members will also collect property tax and water cess for the current year. Property tax arrears amounting to Rs 1,860 crore and water cess dues of Rs 20.25 crore have to be recovered. Law Minister HK Patil told reporters that urban local bodies in the state will have an estimated population of 202.58 lakh in their limits by 2025. At present, there are 51.51 lakh houses and of them, 30.05 lakh have drinking water connections. With around 40% water cess pending in all urban local bodies, the officials have been directed to review collection of dues every month, the minister said.
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